Pellet Plastic Bags - Do they diminish the eco-friendly nature of burning pellets.

billb3 said:

If you have single or even dual stream recycling it all gets sorted when the truck's load is tipped.



Um, the stove met the standard before the LBT was applied.
It doesn't matter if .02/hr of allowable particulate is blown out all at once, dumped on the ground or in incremental amounts it is still .02/hr.

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Tell that to the lady next door with her white sheets on the clothesline............

Man will never make heat a 100 percent eco friendly unless you plan on burning downed trees cut with animal bones and hauled home by hand. The idea here is its a renewable fuel and or recycled materials that dont go to the landfill. But rest assured the libs may have us heating with downed trees cut with animal bones soon enough

I say BACK TO THE CAVES ....

I don't need no light ..... I don't need no heat ...... I don't need nothing but raw meat and a wind driven sleet in my face.

Old Spartan said:

I say BACK TO THE CAVES ....

I don't need no light ..... I don't need no heat ...... I don't need nothing but raw meat and a wind driven sleet in my face.

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Sounds like a personal issue to me.

they burn good

I use mine for trash bags. I have enough to last thru out the summer. When my stash runs low, it's cold enough to start the pellet stove up again.

They're also handy for construction projects, wherever you need some plastic. We had bags of cement outside on the deck when the clouds rolled in and it looked like rain. I did not want to drag the cement undercover, so I just put each one in a pellet bag. Worked perfectly.

In my area, stores have stopped giving out bags, you must bring your own. So my supply of plastic bags has pretty much dried up. I'm glad for the pellet bags.

Our township has a very aggressive and very effective recycling program, and they readily take our plastic pellet bags. I think a recycling program that won't take plastic bags is not much of a recycling program. That said, I wish I could do away with them. Perhaps one day bulk storage...

Old Spartan said:

I say BACK TO THE CAVES ....

I don't need no light ..... I don't need no heat ...... I don't need nothing but raw meat and a wind driven sleet in my face.

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You're not allowed to eat meat either.

ScotL said:

You're not allowed to eat meat either.

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Or only if it died by natural causes and the buzzards are already circling

StoLat said:

First post ever and newbie pellet stove owner. Really digging the pellet lifestyle but after burning just over a ton so far this winter in the snowy North East, I am starting to think it's not as "green" as I thought it would be because of all the plastic bags I've discarded.

Like most plastic bags I do not believe the pellet bags can be thrown in the recycle bin. Anyone else have this concern/know if the industry is looking into making any bagging changes?

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All the recycling places I use are labeled to accept 1-4 or whatever it is so why wouldn't the bags be recyclable? Do some brands of pellets not use recyclable plastic? I've only used a couple brands so I don't know.

Recycling itself is controversial but that's for another discussion.

I'm not sure if anything is 100% earth friendly and sustainable, unless like someone else said we go back to primitive cave man like days. So I suppose if that's not on the table, than we should be comparing how eco-friendly pellet stoves are compared to other legitimate options. Is using a pellet stove eco friendly compared to propane? Electric? Just regular firewood?

Maybe if they switched to burlap sacks instead of plastic?

OhioBurner© said:

Maybe if they switched to burlap sacks instead of plastic?

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But then you will have a storage moisture problem... and what do you do with the burlap bags when done? A very vicious cycle all around...

The local family owned grocery store has made a concerted effort to operate towards the "green" side of life. When building the new store, he incorporated HVAC and lighting systems to that end. They are also pretty aggressive with their recycling efforts. They give you a discount for bringing your own shopping bags to reduce usage of the plastic bags. They have a bin in front of the store for collection of plastics and aluminum with the proceeds being donated to a local cause ... projects under way for local schools, sports teams, etc.

I asked the cashier what happens with the plastic bags that are returned? They obviously have found a purchaser for plastics as she said they bundle them and deliver; same with aluminum and cardboard. Around here, since we have a low population density, seems there is one local connection for recycling one type of material...

I stuff archery targets with the bags. If packed very tightly you would be amazed by the stopping power and by how long they last. When the time comes and the arrows start passing thru the targets, the bags get removed from the target and deposited at the local grocer.

According to out recycling place the reason they don't take the bags is they jam the machine. What machine I don't know. I haven't seen or burned any pellets that were in bags that weren't recyclable.
As far as how green pellets are compared to other fuels. I expect wood that is harvested on your own property would be greenest. All other fuels use electricity in there manufacture and or distribution. Pellets would be next and natural gas third.
Ron

Lake Girl said:

and what do you do with the burlap bags when done

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new shirts, pants and dresses for the kids, curtains for the house, ths list goes on

moey said:

What makes you think pellets are eco-friendly? Lots of electricity goes into producing them. Anything that you buy in a plastic container and then recycle could be considered non eco-friendly. Recycling uses some nasty chemicals to get a product from A to B its just better then throwing it into a landfill.

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We are getting heat from a byproduct that would otherwise not be used or simply decompose in many cases and still give off CO2 without any benefit. It means less burning of other fuels such as coal. It is not exactly fusion or a hydrogen fuel cell but we are not there yet.

johninwi said:

new shirts, pants and dresses for the kids, curtains for the house, ths list goes on

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Funny guy ... do know how scratchy that burlap sack is? BTW, you forgot the placemats for the table I actually have seen those!

I use the empty bags as a "drop cloth" to cover the floor when I clean the stove out each week. Keeps the carpet from getting gunky and then I recycle them. Although I may be tempted to use them to keep the weeds down.

Frankly Scarlet, I ...............................

Lake Girl said:

Funny guy ... do know how scratchy that burlap sack is? BTW, you forgot the placemats for the table I actually have seen those!

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For the KIDS, helps build character.

Oh, and i use the empties as trash bags,

johninwi said:

For the KIDS, helps build character.

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Obviously, you haven't met my kids - they don't suffer in silence

Your'e not kidding with this . . . are you? Just use the bags for something else, go hug a tree and stop carrying on.

The bags should be a biodegradable or easily recycled material IF they offer the pellet the same protection levels. All too often recycled goods come at both a premium in price and a decrease in quality.

While I certainly think we need to recycle, reuse, and repurpose such efforts need be accomplished within practical parameters.

In the case of pellets a substitute material needs be tough enough to handle multiple levels of handling, offer moisture protection, and be able to breathe. In addition the material must meet a cost point because most people will not pay even a dime more per bag as evidenced by the price discussions that take place here.

Most heating units carry carbon baggage with few exceptions and those exceptions carry alternate baggage equal to or greater than carbon (at least in the minds of policy makers).

It seems the tree huggers would have us go back to caves and Grimm Fairy Tales and the carbon deniers would have us continue to oblivian. Either path leads to a cliff.

Technology is the basis of our existence, It creates these issues but at the same time offers solutions. The solutions will always need to be formed within economics of affordability.

Sorry for the preaching but the subject becomes silly when the two fringes I call bookends are allowed to dominate the reasoning because both ends are unreasonable.

Well, this thread got me curious.

Commingled Items

Please remove caps, rinse and crush.

These items may be placed all together in one container:

Aluminum/Tin Cans, Pie Plates, Roaster Pans, Plastic Milk containers, Glass jars/bottles - all colors (Brown, Green & Blue), Plastics w/ #1 thru #7 in triangle

Items considered NON-Recyclable:
Crystal Flat glass (dishes), Ceramics, Styrofoam, Plastic bags, Saran Wrap, Light bulbs, Window glass, Recycle bins, Milk crates, Aerosol cans, Swimming pools, Plastic toys

These items would just go into the trash.

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So apparently they don't have a way to process the plastic bags even though they accept the type of plastic they're made from.

RKS130 said:

Your'e not kidding with this . . . are you? Just use the bags for something else, go hug a tree and stop carrying on.

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If only we could have two planets. One for those who are willing to see if they can make theirs last and stay healthy, another for those who call the other people "tree huggers". People who are too lazy to even separate out recyclable items from regular trash are just beating the heck out of the one planet we all share. Plastic bags are not the easiest things to recycle, but it can be, and is, done. Or you can just throw it all in a landfill, which sadly is what most of the non-"tree-huggers" do, whether they filled it with other trash first, or not (ends up in the same place). Recycling is just about as easy as things get, and how anyone can't at least make that small effort is just beyond me.

Wilbur the (apparent) tree hugger

It is possible to take reasonable conservation measures and not be a "tree hugger".

It is equally possible to measure and act within a cost/benefit ratio regarding those conservation measures and not be a denier.

It is not reasonable to impose ones value system which is the goal of the bookends.